GACC Students
by Jackfreak1994
Summary: Stitch is offered his job back as Captain of the Galactic Armada, and with Lilo struggling to be accepted in college, she is also offered by the Grand Councilwoman to become a future assistant of Stitch, but for her to do that she will first have to attend Galactic Alliance Community College. Both happily accept for the offer, unaware of the troubles they will have to face.
1. Prologue

Greetings everybody!

Wow, it's been four years since I last logged in to Fanfiction, and sadly I never finished my first story. Well I'm back and I am now more confident about actually completing this new one. If any of you follow me on Deviantart, I'm sure you all have an idea of what this story will be about but in case you don't feel free to visit my page (link is on my profile). I've done some artwork of Lilo and Stitch's future, and some are of their adventures in space. To my surprise one of them has gone viral and many have insisted me to write a story about it ever since.

Well, here it is!

Just to let some of you know, I'm not that great at writing stories. I'm more an artist than a writer, so if ever I make a mistake please don't be too harsh. I'll accept tips, but I'd appreciate it if you guys would be a bit gentle with me.

Also a special thanks to solaria, my Beta reader, for looking over my chapter. :3

* * *

Prologue

"No...stop. Please"

As much as she tried, she couldn't speak those words she wished to say, neither could she move any part of her body. Those words were the only thing that kept repeating in her mind, and as much as she wanted to shout them, she couldn't.

The only thing she felt was a horrible burning feeling in her torso, as if someone was setting her body on fire. But that was the least of her worries for the moment. Now the pain of her injury was nothing compared to the hollow empty feeling in her heart, as she watched what seemed a massacre in front of her, and the one responsible was at the moment fighting against a whole group in front of him.

The tiny creature was terrifying, breathing heavily and snarling at the tall aliens that stood a few feet in front of him. He was not in his right mind, his body trembled, drool began to drip from the side of his left lip, and his fur was all soaked in blood. Around him were bodies of the ones who dared challenge this small experiment and had sadly lost their lives.

This didn't seem to affect his opponents. Despite his horrible features they didn't seemed to be threatened. Quite the contrary, they made it seem like they were more than ready to start a fight. He snarled and swung his claws, waiting for any of his challengers to dare to make a first move. It wasn't long until they all cried at once, running towards this small creature ready to attack it.

But before any of them reached him, he threw himself in the air and snapped the neck of the first victim he landed on. He did the same to others, occasionally punching one victim or biting another he landed on.

He hopped from one alien to another repeating the same abuse, until there were none of them left in his way.

What Lilo Pelekai was witnessing was far worse than she could have ever imagined. Her body lay at the far corner of the room, away from all of this hell that was taking place. Her torso was pitch black due to a plasma shot, and she was too weak to move or speak because of her blood loss.

"Stop it...stop...STOP!"

If she was able to move her arms, she would no doubt be covering her ears, anything to block away the horrible screeches of these aliens, and the horrible sounds of bones snapping that ended their pain. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't keep her eyes away from the scene.

What made it much more frightening was that this creature, was none other than Stitch. No, not Stitch... this creature was not the happy little puppy alien that Lilo knew. This was what she trained him not to be, the monster that Stitch himself was too afraid to become.

Her best friend, brother, and hero had become the dangerous creature everyone forgot he was. This was Experiment 626.

Her vision blurred as she felt the tears start welling up in her eyes. She was helpless, and God how much she hated it, especially now that he needed her more than ever. No matter how much she tried to move or run towards his aid, and give him all the love and comfort he needed to bring him back to normal, she couldn't. She was well aware that Stitch's behavior was all because of her, to protect her from harm, but right now she wondered if this was more than that. It seemed that with this uncontrollable rage, he had forgotten that she was still in the room and instead attacked just for the pleasure of seeing these aliens in pain.

Lilo soon realized that there was one tall red alien that was yet untouched, who stood 20 feet away from where Stitch sat. Stitch had not noticed his presence, he was too busy taking deep breaths, growling every time he sucked in the air in desperation to regain his strength again.

The taller alien seemed to be enjoying Stitch's state and smirked wickedly from afar. Slowly he took out from the side of his belt his plasma gun, and aimed carefully at Stitch, who still had not noticed his presence.

"LOOK BEHIND YOU STITCH!" Lilo cried. As if he heard her, Stitch turned to look behind him and froze. The red alien hadn't flinched at Stitch's gaze, he kept his gun aiming at him, with that still wicked grin plastered on his face.

"Looks like we're finally where we both wanted to be," He chuckled.

Lilo's tears were falling uncontrollably as she watched the showdown she hoped wouldn't happen. This was all her fault, if it wasn't for her determination to prove herself, none of this would have happened. Why didn't she listen to Stitch and Jumba when she had the chance, God she was so stupid!

Who knew that becoming a Galactic Federal Student would have been the cause of her death? And to think that this all started with one simple call from the councilwoman, five months ago...


	2. Ch 1: Plans and Preparation

**I'm aware that some readers don't understand Stitch's tantalog language, so I'll be providing a translation at the end of the chapters :)**

* * *

_Chapter 1_

Stitch growled as he awoke to the sound of the alarm's beeping going off. Groaning tiredly, he turned his head to glare at the annoying machine that sat on top of the drawer.

In the screen, the numbers read that it was 6:30 in the morning, with small text under it that read the date of June 14, 2013.

Stitch gasped, today was Lilo's high school graduation!

Stitch smiled widely in delight before he kicked off the blanket off him, slowly lifting himself from his cot.

His eyes turned to look across the room, not at all surprised to see Lilo still sleeping peacefully in her bed, unaware of the annoying beeping. Stitch never understood why she bought that useless alarm in the first place, or why she still left it on, when he was always the one who ended up jolting her awake. All that contraption was good for was to make his ears twitch while the young teen in the other corner was still enjoying her time in dreamland.

So, knowing that she wouldn't getting up anytime soon, Stitch yawned and stretched his little legs and arms, quickly regaining his strength, before climbing up the wall, making his way towards the top drawer.

Stitch lightly growled as he crawled towards the alarm, resisting the urge to smash the device into pieces to shut it off more quickly. He still had difficulties touching anything without destroying it. This was already the fourth alarm clock Lilo had purchased thanks to his morning accidents, and Stitch was not willing to give up another monthly allowance because of this tempting target.

Stitch took a deep breath as he led his claw towards the huge button that read snooze, careful not to let his strength get the best of him. Lightly, he pressed the tip of his claw to the button, smiling proudly as he heard the irritating sound finally turn off.

He inhaled deeply, his ears moving back and forth in great relief, enjoying once again the wonderful silence.

I'll have to talk to Lilo about getting rid of that thing; if I don't, I've no doubt it'll leave me deaf soon, Stitch thought as he scratched the inside of his ear, hoping to gain his hearing back.

Stitch reached to the small gray control next to the alarm, pushing down the biggest button it had, and pointed it towards the ceiling, causing the top metal dome protection to slowly open up, revealing the wonderful blue sky and lovely Kauai nature that surrounded their home.

Once only the glass protection remained, Stitch left the control behind and slowly walked over the corner of their drawer, hopping towards Lilo's pillow, making the bed creak slightly as he crawled towards his sleeping friend, and sat in front of her, his ears listening to her steady breathing, indicating that she was still lost in her dreams.

"Wake up," Stitch said, shaking her shoulder.

Lilo lightly moaned in displeasure and lazily pushed his arm off hers. Stitch frowned at the gesture and shook her again with a bit more force causing her body to move back and forth as if she were a rag doll.

"Aggaba foobo Lilo!" Stitch cried as he continued to shook her, but stopped suddenly as his ears caught the sound of her breathing beginning to change. He let go of her shoulder and sat patiently, his tail wiggling in excitement as he finally watched Lilo begin to open her eyes.

Lilo groaned at the very bright light that surrounded the room, covering her face with her hand, blinking occasionally to readjust her eyes.

"Ugh…did I forget to close the dome?" She lazily asked herself as she rubbed her eyes, not noticing Stitch in front of her.

"Naga, meega open dome!"

Lilo turned and noticed her little friend sitting in front of her, slightly bouncing and smiling down at her as if he knew something that she didn't know. She returned the smile and reached out towards him, caressing his little head and ears as Stitch leaned towards her touch. A barely noticeable purr escaped his throat in satisfaction.

"Good morning," she moaned under her breath.

"Ahua shalom bye!" Stitch repeated in his tantalog language. "Lilo need to get up, naga late for important day"

"Important day?" Lilo yawned as she began to sit up from her bed, stretching her arms tiredly over her head. She turned again to look at Stitch, trying her best to ignore the idea of going back under the covers to drift off to sleep.

"Ih! Lilo graduate today, remember?" He said as he pointed towards their closet door, where a dress, cap, and gown were neatly hanging on a hook.

Lilo slowly turned to see what he was pointing at and stared for a while, until the fog in her head was soon wiped out with the sudden rush of the events of the past week.

"OH MY GOSH, TODAY'S MY GRADUATION!" She cried as her body jolted up with sudden energy in her system, while Stitch fell back from the bed, startled at her sudden reaction.

Lilo lifted her legs from under the covers before she stood up to run towards the bathroom, to wash her teeth and face, occasionally muttering happily under her breath.

Stitch, now recovered from his fall, was looking up at Lilo as she hurried to the drawer to take out her cosmetics bag and camera before running towards the other side of the room to remove her dress from the hanger.

"Lilo need help?" Stitch asked as he continued to watch Lilo run back and forth, doing her everyday human rituals to get ready.

Lilo, finally acknowledging his presence, again turned and gave him an apologetic smile. "No thanks Stitch, I have everything I need now. I just need to get dressed, fix my hair, put on some make up...oh, you know the drill" Lilo explained. "Maybe you should go check if the others downstairs are already awake, I don't want to risk arriving late to my graduation because of a late bloomer. Oh, and if Pleakley's awake, can you tell him to come help me? I'm going to need his professional touch in fashion." She said, winking at the last part.

Stitch rolled his black eyes playfully, nodding at her request as he made his way towards the platform, exiting the room to give her some privacy.

* * *

"Jumba does not see what big deal is, it is just a highly advanced plasma gun weapon disguised as lipstick for little girl to use for self-defense. If little girl will be far from home, she will need protection from unaware dangers out there." Jumba said as he swirled his spoon in his oatmeal.

"Are you crazy, I don't want my little sister carrying a weapon! What if she gets caught and arrested? Or worse, she ends up hurting herself by accident." Nani said as she brought the pineapple drinks to the kitchen table.

"Highly impossible, I designed this weapon to be very safe. It will only activate when little girl pushes this small button under the cap of lipstick. I made sure it recognizes her biosignature before it loads, so in case if, say, perpetrator took weapon from her, my device will detect the enemy and automatically send a terrible electric shock through body, leaving enemy unconscious. Genius, no? " Jumba explain proudly.

"Still, I don't want Lilo carrying a lipstick..gun..thing with her!"

"I don't know, I think that's pretty cool," said the young Hawaiian man who was sitting next to Jumba, observing the little device in fascination.

"David, you're not helping" Nani said in annoyance.

"Well, there are many crazy people out there Nani, I would feel more comfortable to know that Lilo is well-protected carrying an advanced alien weapon with her. I mean, Stitch did a fine job protecting her, I'm sure this device will work fine as well."

"Ha! See, bigger girl's fiancée understands." Jumba said as he patted David's back.

Ever since David proposed to Nani 2 months ago, they both decided that it was probably time to welcome him to live in the house. He was already considered part of the O'hana, so no one protested when David moved in. Ever since he joined the family, David had developed a great interest in Jumba's inventions, which made the evil genius very happy. Maybe it was also the fact that David was the only one in the household that thought his work was worth giving a chance, just like this current project they were discussing about.

"You know I agree with Nani," Pleakley said as he helped Nani bring the bowls and utensils to the table. "I mean no offense, Jumba, but usually when you invent something it always ends up failing. I mean, all the little monsters you created didn't turn out exactly the way you wanted them too, and usually the small devices you've done before just end up exploding."

"Humph! Jumba never fails, you one-eye noodle buffoon. My amazing experiments turned out exactly as I planned them to be."

As they continued to argue over the subject, they failed to notice the small blue and fluffy experiment entering the kitchen.

"Gaba appata?" Stitch asked as he made his way towards the table, curious of what the buzz was about.

"Ah 626, there you are. Please be explaining to one-eye noodle and bigger sister why my wonderful invention is perfect protection for little girl when she leaves for college! They insist it's dangerous when Jumba already tested my wonderful invention many times."

"It's true, I was with him when he did, and it works perfectly," David added.

"We don't even know if she's been accepted to an out-of-state college!" Nani cried in annoyance as she handed Stitch his bowl of oatmeal.

"Well, she have to leave sometime, right? Maybe if she still stay home, she can use it when she finds own place to live." Jumba as he rolled his four eyes, not understanding why Nani was making such a big deal.

"Naga."

The four adult residents turned to look at Stitch, bewildered with his sudden firm response. Stitch glared down at his bowl, trying to avoid the stares he was being given. As much as he tried to control himself, he couldn't help but feel the urge to break something, anything to relieve his anger. He hated listening to the rest of his family discuss about Lilo leaving them.

"Naga need Jumba invention, Lilo stay here when come back, and isa only one to protect Lilo!" Stitch yelled, banging the table in anger.

They all looked down at Stitch in pity, finally understanding his sudden outrage.

The awkward silence remained, none of them knowing what to say until Pleakley suddenly stood. "Jee, look at the time, uh...I just remembered that I have to help Lilo get ready, I, uh, I'll be leaving now!" Pleakley said awkwardly, as he quickly exited the kitchen.

With the silence now interrupted, Nani, Jumba, and David looked at one another expecting someone to say something.

Nani sighed, and stood from her seat, walking around the table to where Stitch sat, still avoiding eye contact.

"Stitch."

When Stitch didn't respond, Nani kneeled down next to Stitch and reached to hold his chin to make him face her.

"Stitch, I know you don't like the idea of Lilo leaving, and to tell you the truth I don't like it either, but that doesn't mean she won't be coming back." Nani said softly as she let go of his chin to rub his furry back.

"But...what if Lilo naga want come back, want to live in new home. Why naga Lilo go college here in Kauai?" Stitch whispered sadly.

"Because there is only one community college in the island, and they don't offer the things Lilo wants for her career."

"Why can't Stitch go with Lilo?"

"Because Lilo will spend most of her time studying, and in school. She won't have enough time to have fun, and you'll just spent most of your time stuck at her apartment. Besides, you still have us, and your cousins as well." Nani said as she gestured towards David and Jumba who smiled at Stitch in support.

Stitch returned the smile, beginning to feel the weight in his heart beginning to ease. "Ih, guess so."

"Do not be worrying so much 626, little girl cares too much for ohana, everything will turn to okay." Jumba said as he lightly patted Stitch's head.

"If it makes you feel better, Lilo hasn't received any letters yet, so there is no need to worry," David added.

Stitch's smile widened at what David said. Sure, the letters would arrive eventually. But for now, Stitch could enjoy the relief that Lilo might still remain at home.

"Stitch oketaka now, takka." Stitch said happily.

Nani smiled before kissing his little nose, "Well, I'm going to go check on Lilo. Make sure you three finish your oatmeal quickly, we still need to get ready for Lilo's graduation."

* * *

**Stitch translation:**

**Aggaba Foobo = Stop Sleeping**

**Naga = No/can't**

**Meega = I/me/I'm**

**Ahua shalom bye = Good Morning**

**Ih = Yes**

**Gaba Appata = What's going on**

**oketaka = ok**

**takka = Thank you**


	3. Ch 2: How Time Flies

**Here's another Chapter!**

**Really hope that it turn out ok, I feel like this chapter is a bit bland. :/**

**Anyways, thank you to those who've reviewed my story, really appreciate it, they really help me so much to improve my chapters. So please, for those who haven't done it yet, please read and review. It would mean so much to me! :3**

* * *

_ Chapter 2 _

"Pleakley, you already sprayed my hair ten times, I'm pretty sure that it won't move during the ceremony!" Lilo said with difficulty, as she coughed and fanned away the spray tin the air.

"Now now, Lilo, I've read enough beauty and fashion magazines to know that when it comes to important events such as yours, you always have to make sure to look perfect. I don't want your hair or the dress I made for you to be out-of-place when you go up to get your diploma. Besides, I'm practically an expert with this whole thing, so just leave it to me." Pleakley said, who was already disguised in female attire. He wore short red straight hair, with a small hat that matched his navy blue blazer, skirt, white silk collared blouse, and high heels.

He continued to spray Lilo's hair, moving from one side to the other, as he made sure not to miss any spot.

"You shouldn't believe everything that magazines say, Pleakley. Most of their tips and information are usually exaggerated and fake. Even the pictures are usually fixed on computer programs to pretend that the cosmetic works. Also, just so you know, this is just a two hour graduation ceremony, not a fashion show. The only thing everyone will be looking forward to is getting a simple piece of paper and going home to celebrate." Lilo tried to hide the annoyance in her voice. She appreciated Pleakley's help when it came to making her dresses and preparing her to look her best in special occasions such as this one, but sometimes he got a little carried away when he relied too much on magazines.

"Fine, have it your way. I'm almost done with your hair anyway, all I need is to get a hair clip and we are ready to go. Now, if I can find one..." Pleakley looked through his cosmetic bags and all the hair products he had on top of the dressing table. "Oh great, I must have left it downstairs. Hang on, I'll be right back, make sure not to move or touch your hair, I don't want my hard work ruined!" He cried as he hurried to the platform.

'At this point I'm afraid of touching it. I bet I can break part of it like a frozen icicle if I decide to pull it!' Lilo thought as she attempted to blow away a strand of hair that was on her face.

While she waited for Pleakley, she decided to turn towards her mirror to look at her reflection. She wore a sleeveless flare peach-colored dress, with floral decorations, that reached all the way to her knees. It had an open back and a white colored ribbon around the waist, with a matching white pair of flats.

Her black straight hair was combed and made into a thick braid that fell on the left side of her shoulder, with her long bangs pushed aside towards the same direction. She wasn't skinny nor overweight; she was about average size with what most would consider a pear shaped body. From what she'd been told, she resembled Nani. The only difference was that Lilo was a bit shorter, reaching five feet one inch, and her cheeks were a bit chubbier.

Lilo smiled, flattered at the wonderful work that Pleakley did. "Hmm, maybe those tips in Pleakley's magazines aren't so bad after all," Lilo pondered as she playfully twirled in delight.

"Oh hubba, hubba! Butifa!"

Lilo, caught by surprise, quickly turned to see Stitch, Nani, and Pleakley standing by the platform.

"Wow Pleakley, I must admit, you really do have a knack for fashion. Ever thought of opening up your own fashion business?" Nani said as she observed Lilo in fascination.

"Actually I have! I've a handful of costumers who have requested me to design them some new dresses. I'm hoping to get more customers today, and if I'm lucky maybe there could be some secret fashion agent in the ceremony, who will be interested with my work once they see Lilo walk up on the stage." Pleakley explained excitedly as he walked towards the dressing table, taking the graduation cap he had placed there earlier.

"And with such a pretty model like my sister, who wouldn't be interested." Nani added as she playfully winked at her sister.

"Ha ha, very funny Nani." Lilo replied as she pushed her sister's shoulder playfully, hoping she didn't notice her light blush of embarrassment.

"Ih, ih, Lilo isa botifa" Stitch said, as he nodded his head in agreement to Nani's compliment .

"Mahalo, you two don't look so bad yourself." Lilo said as she observed Nani and Stitch's outfits. Nani had her hair pulled up into a bun, with a strand of hair left loose on the right side of her face. She was wearing a light-green sleeveless tight dress that reached past her knees, and light yellow heels.

Stitch was wearing a simple red tie, which Lilo noticed in amusement was way too long for him. Both corners of the tie trailed across the floor, with a huge sloppy knot around his neck: his failed attempt to tie it up properly.

"David let Stitch borrow tie, meega dress too!" Stitch said as he looked up at Lilo, pointing at his work proudly.

"I tried to teach the little monster how to tie it the right way, but noooo! He insisted he wanted to do it himself." Pleakley said, rolling his eye in annoyance as he placed the graduation cap on Lilo's head, being careful not to ruin her hair.

Lilo smiled down at Stitch, giving him a thumbs up at his attempt, "And it turned out great for your first time, very proud of you Stitch."

Stitch smile widened at Lilo's compliment. "Takka."

"Well, do you have everything ready Lilo? Because we're going to have to leave pretty soon." Nani said as she took Lilo's blue graduation gown off the hanger from her closet door.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot the reason why I went downstairs in the first place!" Pleakley cried as he reached inside his blazer's pocket, taking out a hand size white foam hair clip, decorated with a Hawaiian orchid.

"Oh! Stitch do it!" Stitch cried as he hopped on the dressing table, his hand reaching out towards Pleakley.

"Fine. Just make sure not to ruin her braid." Pleakley cautioned as he handed Stitch the hair clip before he cleared the mess of cosmetics he left on the dressing table. He turned to walk towards the platform. "I'll go tell Jumba and David to get the car ready," he cried before he was lowered down to the first floor.

"Okay!" Lilo replied as she approached Stitch, bending down slightly to make Stitch's task easier. He slid the hair clip onto her hair, behind her ear, then adjusted some of the wrinkled petals before he stood back to observe his work.

"How does it look?" Lilo curiously asked as she lightly touched the flower.

"Morcheeba!" Stitch complimented as he jumped off the dressing table, ready to make his way towards the platform. "Oketaka, Lilo ready go now."

"Not yet, she's still missing one more important thing." Nani said as she approached Lilo from behind, helping her put on her graduation gown. Lilo zipped up the front part of her gown, being careful not to get her skirt caught on the zipper, before looking up at her reflection again.

Lilo let Nani adjust her collar before taking a step back to take a better look. "There," Nani whispered, "now you're ready." She smiled at Lilo through her reflection

Lilo sighed as she slowly turned to face her sister, "Yeah, I guess I am," she whispered. "How time flies. It seems like yesterday when we both thought that we'd lost everything, that we were left alone in this world." Lilo paused a bit, before continuing. "But now, look at us. We've met a new ohana, who has helped us so much during our time of need. We rehabilitated all of Jumba's experiments, stopped Hamsterviel from taking over. You found a good job, I have a soon-to-be brother in law, which, might I add, took you long enough to finally accept," Lilo said jokingly, making both Nani and Stitch chuckle. "and now..."

"...and now you're moving on to the next chapter in your life." Nani finished as she caressed Lilo's cheek affectionately. "Mom and Dad would be so proud of all of your accomplishments, I know I am."

Lilo smiled before giving her sister a hug, "Thanks Nani, I know Mom and Dad would be proud of you too. You've been the best second mother I've ever had, and I'll never forget that."

Nani felt tears beginning to well up, but tried to hold them back. "Thank you Lilo." She whispered as she returned the hug.

They both remained that way for a minute before being interrupted by Stitch, who awkwardly cleared his throat. "Um, soka, but isa aka-choota." he said as he pointed towards his wrist, indicating that they had to leave soon.

Both sisters sighed, letting go of each other.

"Well, I need to go get my purse," Nani said. "Make sure you have what you need, I'll be waiting for you downstairs." She made her way towards the platform, leaving both Lilo and Stitch alone in the room.

Lilo exhaled to keep herself relaxed. "Well, this is it," she said, as she smiled down at her blue fluffy little friend.

"Ih." Stitch agreed as he stood. He walked over towards Lilo before he stretched out his hand towards her. "Ready?"

Lilo smirked before she bend forward slightly to hold Stitch's little paw. "Ready."

* * *

**Stitch Tantalog Translation:**

**Butifa - Beautiful/Cool/Good**

**Isa - Is/am/are/To be**

**Morcheeba - Very Nice**

**Soka - Sorry**

**Aka-Choota - Gotta go**


	4. Ch 3: Graduation

_Chapter 3_

Lilo stared in awe at the wonderful decorations that surrounded the auditorium. Everything was in white and blue, matching the colors of the students gowns and caps. Paper swirls hung from the roof, and tissue garland decorated the walls. Celebratory posters offered their congratulations all over the room. In each corner of the stage, the year was announced with a huge cardboard number decorated with different flowers. A table located center stage sat full of leis and diplomas. All of the chairs were also decorated, each covered with a white cloth and wrapped with a ribbon. Each one was labeled with the last names of students, so family members had a simpler task of finding where to sit.

Lilo was taking it all in through a door's window. They weren't suppose to come into the auditorium until they had been instructed to do so. So while all the students discussed their plans for after graduation, Lilo was too busy looking for her ohana through all the others that were trying to find the correct seats.

"So what are your plans after high school Lilo?" asked a familiar voice. Lilo grunted in annoyance, before she turned to see none other than her childhood rival, Mertle Edmonds.

Like Lilo, Mertle had changed during the years. Her chubby, petite body had changed into a much curvier and taller figure, and her long red curly hair was now chopped to shoulder-length. She changed physically, but she was still the spoiled attention seeker that she had always been. Lilo didn't understand how she had been able to stand her for years as a child. Perhaps the ignorant innocence of youth? A desire to consider her a friend? But as an adult, Lilo understood better, and she had long since decided that Mertle wasn't worth her time. When Lilo found out that she was attending the same high school as Mertle, she tried to avoid her. Much to Lilo's dismay, though, it seemed that Mertle just refused to get over their old rivalry.

Now, Mertle stood next to her, with a whole new clique of girls whispering to each other as they watched. "Are you going to work as some kind of ghost ranger or something?" She waved her arms mockingly, trying to mimic a ghost.

"No, but thanks for the suggestion, it really does sound like a job I'd be interested in!" Lilo pretended to be excited, hoping her faked ignorance of the insult would infuriate Mertle.

It did.

Mertle growled, "Yeah, I bet you would, since I'm sure it's the only career that'll accept an outcast like you."

Lilo rolled her eyes as she turned again to look through the window. "Oh yeah, that's a good one, I should mention that to the five universities that offered me a scholarship."

At this point Mertle began to fume at Lilo's lack of offense. "Just because you had the highest score in the ACT's, and the best GPA in the school, doesn't change anything. I bet this is all the work of your stupid supposed uncle. What, were you too stupid that your weird uncle had to open up your brain with some weird experiment to make you smarter?"

"Wow, that's low Mertle!" Lilo said as she put her hand over her chest mockingly, "Just like your IQ."

Lilo didn't bother to listen to Mertle's rant, as she finally spotted her family walking into the auditorium. She saw Jumba and Pleakley observing their surroundings, and from what she could tell they were ranting about something, probably criticizing the human customs or decorations. Meanwhile Nani, David, and Stitch were busy looking for their assigned seats.`

Stitch was being carried by David over his shoulders, making it easier for him to take pictures of every corner of the room. He didn't want to miss any detail in his photos, in hopes of showing them off to his cousins later. As he moved his camera around, Lilo smiled when Stitch finally pointed the lens towards her.

Lilo waved excitedly at Stitch, and he waved back before taking her picture.

Mertle huffed as she peeked and noticed Lilo's family. "I can't believe the government hasn't captured your weird family yet, I mean just look at them! With all their technology, are they too stupid to figure out a better way to blend in?"

"Whatever they decide to do is none of your concern, and if I were you I wouldn't be judging anybody's else family, since yours isn't so perfect either," Lilo replied coldly. Mertle could insult her all she wanted, but when it came to her family..."I love them the way they are, and they've helped the whole island many times. You even learned to love one of the experiments, and kept it as a pet, because of my family. If you still have a problem with me, that's fine, but don't ever insult my family."

"Not like it matters anyway. They're going to leave and never come back,when they realize that after graduation, you'll probably leave them to start your own life somewhere else."

Now Lilo's blood was boiling, and she had to resist the urge to punch Mertle in the face. "I would never place a career or my own benefits over my family, everything I've done is all to take care of them. I love them too much to hurt them in any way, and anyone who thinks otherwise clearly doesn't know me at all!"

"Ladies!"

The pair broke their glares to look at the security guard, who was giving them a stern glance.

"This isn't the time to start a fight. For Pete's sake, it's your graduation day!"

Lilo's anger began to diminish, and she felt very embarrassed for causing such a commotion. "You're right sir, I apologize for causing problems," she said quietly.

Mertle's only response was a soft humph as she just glared at the officer, before she walked away.

His gaze followed the red-head, giving her a disapproving look before turning his eyes back towards Lilo. "That's alright, just make sure not to let it happen again."

"Yes, I promise." Lilo replied, giving him a smile.

He returned the smile, then lifted his left wrist to check the time. "Well, the ceremony is starting in two minutes, you best get going to your position."

Lilo nodded, and began to walk away.

"Oh yeah, and Miss?"

Lilo turned to look back at the officer.

"Congratulations."

* * *

The graduation march began to play, and everyone who was seated began to cheer as they watched the students make their entrance into the auditorium, all in a straight alphabetical line.

"Aki-tiki-batta, Lilo!" Stitch cried excitedly as he spotted his best friend entering. He had hoped to get her attention, but with the rest of the families cheering , Lilo wasn't able to hear him. Luckily, she searched for and spotted Stitch the crowd, and she waved to him and the rest of the ohana. He wasted no time in pulling up his camera, taking several pictures as he watched her take her seat in the front row of the auditorium.

"I can't believe it, my little sister, graduating from High school." Nani whimpered as she wiped away a few of her tears.

"She was such a small girl when I first came to this planet, and now sh-she's all grown up." Pleakley, being a very sensitive alien, was also trying to hold back his own tears. "Don't cry Nani, here. Have a tissue."

Both Jumba and Stitch rolled their eyes as they listened to their whimpers, while David tried his best to console both Pleakley and Nani. Jumba spoke up,"Bah, please maintain tears and whimper for later, Jumba cannot hear anything."

At this point Mertle and three other girls walked up to the stage, each giving a very long and boring speech about the future of all the students, and how each would do something that might change the lives of others.

Stitch was not listening to any of them. Instead he began to wonder what was going to happen after graduation, when Lilo finally received her lacceptance letter to a university. Nani, David, and Jumba had advised him not to worry about it that morning, but he couldn't help himself. What's going to happen when Lilo has to leave the island? Stitch thought. Will she come back? What was he going to do without her?

After their first separation, when Lilo gave him the chance to fulfill his dream of becoming a space captain, even knowing they wouldn't see each other for a very long time, he began to realize that his life had no meaning without her. His true place was on Earth, with Lilo.

Now, it was Lilo's turn to leave and fulfill her dreams, and he had to give her the same support she gave him years ago. He also had to face the fact that he would have to stay behind for a while.

But he couldn't.

Sure, he still had his other family, and 624 cousins to hang out with on the island, but he just didn't feel as close to them like he felt with Lilo. That, and she had more tolerance with him when he had his moments of tantrum, and knew how to give him the perfect guidance when he needed it. She knew him too well, and he knew her too well.

Yes, Stitch knew he was being very selfish, but at the same time he didn't really care. He didn't want her to go anywhere, and if she did, he wanted to be there with her, have fun with her, and share memories together like the old times.

He was just not ready to accept this so-called "new chapter" that Lilo would take.

"Lilo Pelekai!"

Stitch quickly looked up towards the stage, realizing that Mertle and the other girls were gone. He had been too lost in his own thoughts to realize that they were already passing out the diplomas and leis to each of the students.

"What are you waiting for little monster, take some pictures!" Pleakley cried.

He nodded quickly before picking up his camera to take pictures as Lilo walked up the stage, shaking her principal's hand while taking the diploma. She bowed her head as he put the graduation lei on her, before waving at the cheering crowd.

After the rest received their diplomas, and they all went up on stage to do a few performances, the principal finally concluded the ceremony by giving a happy cheer for the lucky students, before they all took off their caps and tossed them into the air.

* * *

**Stitch translation:**

**Aki-tiki-batta = There she is **

* * *

**Don't forget to review!**


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